DEKALB, Ill. -- The Western Michigan women's basketball team's defense did its job, holding the No. 3 ranked scoring offense in the country over 22 points below its average, but Northern Illinois overcame a fourth quarter deficit to defeat the Broncos 67-62 Saturday afternoon at the Convocation Center. This was just the second time the Huskie's offense was held under 70 points this season.
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WMU falls to 14-7 and 5-5 in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) while NIU, who boasts the best record in the conference, improves to 16-5 overall, 9-1 in the MAC and have won 10 of its last 11 games.
The game came right down to the final minute, as the Broncos had the lead for over 32 minutes of the contest. WMU started out hot in the first quarter, getting out to a 22-13 lead heading into the second quarter. NIU stormed right back after WMU got out a 14-point lead midway through the second, the largest lead by either team. The Huskies used a 12-0 run to end the first half, but the Broncos still led 32-30 at the break.
NIU's run carried into the second half, where Huskies pushed it to a 15-0 run and took their first lead of the game at the 8:29 mark of the third quarter. The Broncos didn't stay down for long, using a 14-4 run to end the third quarter and led by seven heading into the fourth quarter. Sophomore Meredith Miller, senior Meredith Shipman and freshman Kamrin Reed all connected on 3-pointers during the run.
NIU was able to erase the deficit in the fourth quarter, coming back to grab a three-point lead with just over 2:00 to play. Junior Najee Smith hit a big-time 3-pointer to make it a one-point game with 30 seconds left, but that was the final field goal of the game for Western Michigan. The Broncos had a shot to tie it with 16 second left, but a missed 3-pointer helped seal the Huskie win.
WMU got huge contributions off the bench, as Miller led the team with a career-high 17 points and hit three 3-pointers. Also off the bench, junior LaTondra Brooks had season-highs in points (six) and rebounds (six) while Reed and freshman Emma VanZanten each had three. Redshirt junior Marley Hill scored 11 and added eight rebounds while sophomore Breanna Mobley scored six and grabbed nine rebounds. Shipman finished with eight points and hit a pair of 3-pointers, making this the sixth straight game she's made at least two 3-pointers.
The stats were just about even across the board with the exception of the free-throw line, where the Huskies out-shot the Broncos 13-of-21 to 5-of-8. Rebounds were 42-41, turnovers 17-15 and field-goal percentage 38.5 percent to 38.3 percent.
WMU will return home to battle Toledo on Wednesday, Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. As a reminder, WMU's home game against Eastern Michigan on Saturday, February 18 is the annual Play 4Kay Pink game and is also a doubleheader with the WMU Men's Basketball Team.
